Project SEARCH®
Interested in project SEARCH?
Marilee Boylan, M.S.
Director of Employment Programs
N.Y. Project SEARCH State Coordinator
Marilee Boylan
The Project SEARCH® Transition-to-Work Program is a unique, business-led, one-year employment preparation program that takes place entirely at the workplace. Total workplace immersion facilitates a seamless combination of classroom instruction, career exploration, and hands-on training through worksite rotations. The program culminates in individualized job development.
Project SEARCH®
The goal of Project SEARCH® is competitive employment. To reach that goal, the program provides real-life work experience combined with training in employability and independent-living skills to help young people with significant disabilities make successful transitions to productive adult life. The Project SEARCH® model involves an extensive period of skills training and career exploration, innovative adaptations, long-term job coaching, and continuous feedback from teachers, skills trainers, and employers. As a result, the Project SEARCH® team works at the completion of the training program, to support students to be employed in nontraditional, complex and rewarding jobs. In addition, the presence of a Project SEARCH® program can bring about long-term changes in business culture that have far-reaching positive effects on attitudes about hiring people with disabilities and the range of jobs in which they can be successful.
Program Overview
Program participants (interns) attend the program for a full school year in the host business/hospital. The host business provides access to an on-site training room that can accommodate up to 12 interns. The site is staffed by a special education teacher and one to three skills trainers to meet the educational and training needs of the interns.
- Once the program year begins,the first few weeks are focused on intern orientation, hands-on skill assessment, and familiarization with the business environment. Interns develop a career plan, which guides the internship selection process and individualized job search.
- Employment Skills Curriculum:Throughout the program year, the interns work on employability skills for approximately one hour of their day. Training room activities are designed around these focus areas: Team Building, Workplace Safety, Technology, Maintaining Employment, Self-Advocacy, Financial Literacy, Health and Wellness, and Preparing for Employment.
- Internships:Through a series of three targeted internships the interns acquire competitive, marketable and transferable skills to enable them to apply for a related position. Interns also build communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills which is important to their overall development as a young worker.
Project SEARCH® Sites near Monroe County
- City of Rochester
- Del Monte Hotel Group
- Jewish Senior Life
- University of Rochester Medical Center
- Wegmans
- Eastview Mall
New York State Coordination
The Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities serves as the statewide coordinator for Project SEARCH® in New York State. Working in collaboration with the Project SEARCH® team at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, we can provide technical assistance to communities interested in starting a Project SEARCH® program. Please contact us for more information.
Current Project SEARCH® Programs in New York State
Project SEARCH® Evaluation
SCDD partnered with the National Project SEARCH team at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital to measure and evaluate the long-term impact of Project SEARCH on employment outcomes for youth and young adults with IDD. Analysis of longitudinal outcome data indicates that Project SEARCH not only prepares participants to enter the workforce, but that program graduates are successfully maintaining employment over time. Read more about the evaluation's findings. The B. Thomas Golisano Foundation brought Project SEARCH® to the Greater Rochester Area and provided the essential funding to develop local partnerships. The NYS Developmental Disability Planning Council and the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities provided funding to support the initial coordination and expansion of Project SEARCH® across New York State.